OLED monitors may about to become a thing thanks to LG

[Alejo I]

For those less in the know, OLED technology is set to become the next big thing in imaging, greatly surpassing LCD/TFT due to its absurd contrast levels, super fast response times, superior viewing angles and inherent capacity to achieve perfect black levels. To put it in simple terms, they are what CRTs used to be but in the package of nowadays super slim LCD displays and with minimal energy requirements, unlike plasma (may it RIP). Several manufacturers are already fielding commercial displays, but those TVs are way too big to be mounted inside your average cabinet and they are so hideously expensive they are not even an option. They have remained pretty niche so far, but that could change soon.

LG (which is already the largest supplier of large format OLED displays) has just announced that it will start pushing for sales of OLED commercial displays for B2B customers, starting with digital signage and video wall displays. Now, those screens are probably still way large to build a perfectly accurate Mario cabinet, but this may mean the start of mass manufacturing of cheaper OLED displays for our hobby while bringing down the costs of consumer-level ones.

Displays for digital signage and video wall applications are also offered (if somewhat sparsely) in 4:3 and ultra stretched formats, which may mean awesome news for those of us who'd prefer a classic aspect ratio and those crazy cats working on cabinets with active marquees. Worst case scenario, the ability of OLED displays to put absolute black levels mean that integrating a 16:9 display on a cabinet wouldn't be nearly as much of a hassle as it is now. Digital bezels would look rad on them, but cropping the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3 and leaving the sides blank wouldn't look terrible since there's no LED/CFL back lighting to speak of. It would also allow for the creating of multi-gen arcade cabs equally capable of displaying retro and modern games.

Now, I'm sure that those commercial OLED displays won't be as dirty cheap as those junky 20" computer monitors some folks are scoring through eBay, but they may become a more desirable alternative for those willing to spend some cash in order to enjoy perfect viewing angles and the best blacks in the market. There’s also a chance that not being actual TVs, the lack of extra video processing will mean greatly reduced lag for fighting games and the like.

Anyway, I'm so glad to see OLED finally making strides. It doesn't look like I'll be building an OLED cab any time soon, but I love the fact that we are finally starting to get away from the awful inadequacies of LCD. I only recently began to build my first cab and I had to spend a lot of time looking for high quality 22-inch CRT computer monitors since I needed an actual 4:3 display and black levels/viewing angles are way too compromised using LCD monitors.